CHAPTER ONE
It was the beginning of Hermione Granger's her sixth year at Hogwarts, and she was nervous. The atmosphere was tense; everyone, students and teachers alike could sense that something terrible was going to happen soon. Even Professor Trelawney was quieter than usual, shooting anxious glances at Professor Dumbledore when he wasn't looking, or muttering to herself about bad omens, and Hermione, who was widely known to be a Divination skeptic, didn't have it in her to be annoyed by the eccentric, owlish teacher. This war affects everyone, thought Hermione to herself as she stared into her steaming cup of tea. Even phonies like her.
"Hermione," said someone's voice.
Immediately, she reached for her wand, then remembered with an inward curse that it was packed in her suitcase. She snapped her fingers expertly, and her 10¾ inch vine wood wand appeared in the palm of her hand. With swift reflexes, she jabbed the wand toward the person who had spoken, sitting in a tense position that screamed 'I will hex you and it will hurt if you don't explain yourself right this minute.'
She was met with the wide blue-eyed stare of Ronald Weasley, who put his hands up placatingly.
Hermione relaxed, and huffed out a long sigh, putting the wand away. "Honestly, Ronald, be careful. I almost hexed you."
He had the good grace to shoot her an abashed grin as he sat down. "Wandless magic, 'Mione? Why am I not surprised." When Hermione smiled softly, he continued. "So, anyway — d'you think you're up to a visit to Hogsmeade with me and Harry tonight? Tomorrow's Saturday, you know."
She looked at Harry, to Ron, and back again. She sighed. "No, I don't think so, Ron. I have studying to catch up on."
The boys grinned and exchanged a meaningful look. Some things never changed.
Nevertheless, Harry shrugged and stood up. "We thought you might. Send us an owl or something if you need anything, yeah?" he said. She smiled and nodded, before watching the two boys walk away, laughing and shoving each other as they went.
Hermione's smile faded and she stared into her tea cup. In recent days, she'd been feeling tired and weak, and more importantly, nervous. It was as if something was looming over her head, like a great terrible thundercloud. She shuddered, and swallowed the rest of the tea. Then, she blinked in surprise when she saw the bottom of the empty cup. The tea leaves had formed tiny shapes that looked suspiciously like — no, it couldn't be. Bats?
Hermione's eyes flickered to where Professor Snape, 'bat of the dungeons,' was sitting at the Head Table. She frowned, and glanced down at her tea cup. The shapes had disappeared. Blinking rapidly to dispel the image of the silly thing she thought she had seen, Hermione got up from the table with her over-large bag of books, and looked down at her schedule. Double Arithmancy followed by Transfiguration, and then Double Potions — with the Slytherins, no less.
With an inward groan Hermione left the Great Hall and made her way up to the Arithmancy tower. When she arrived and sat down, class began as usual. She'd memorised Numerology and Grammatica years ago, as well as the New Theory of Numerology (which Harry had given to her as a Christmas present last year), in preparation for the course. She was, as always, terribly excited.
"Good morning, class," said Professor Septima Vector as the door to her back office swung open seemingly of its own accord and let her into the room.
"Good morning, Professor," came the harmonious and polite response. Ravenclaws and Gryffindors made for a well-behaved class, after all.
"Today," said Vector with a gleam in her eyes, "We will be discussing Curse-Breaking. Can anyone tell me what Curse-Breaking is?"
All the hands in the room rose at once. Hermione wasn't bothered by this; quite the contrary. In her Arithmancy class with the Ravenclaws, she felt like she belonged. She didn't feel like an 'insufferable little know-it-all."
"Miss Fairfax," said Professor Vector pleasantly, pointing at a delicate blonde girl at the back of the room.
Delaney Fairfax's face brightened as she gave her answer. "Curse-Breaking is the act of removing, countering or breaking curses placed on objects or places. Some people do it for a living."
"Very good, Miss Fairfax. Five points to Ravenclaw."
None of the Ravenclaw students reacted to the addition of points to their House Cup. In their sixth year, at the dawn of a great war, they couldn't allow themselves to be excited by such silly things anymore. They were focused, alert, and while Septima Vector was proud of them, this also saddened her greatly. She knew that the happy, blissful phases of her student's lives were long gone.
All the more reason, then, for her to teach them everything she knew. She continued with renewed determination.
"It is often said that the field of Arithmancy serves as a foil to Divination, in that it might be a magical equivalent to Muggle probability calculations. If this is indeed the case, this might explain why the subject would be required for Curse-Breakers. Can anyone tell me why?"
Hermione raised her hand and smiled gently when Vector chose her.
"Thank you, Professor," she said, then gave her answer. "It would allow them to evaluate the potential success of a curse-breaking strategy without having to actually do it, meaning they could minimise the risk of failure or injury."
"Excellent, Miss Granger. Take five points to your House."
And the class went on. It was riveting, of course, and Hermione took all the notes she could, committing Vector's words to memory for later use. When Arithmancy ended, Hermione thanked Professor Vector and left to her next class: Transfiguration.
She moved into the classroom where Transfiguration for Gryffindors was normally held, and smiled when she saw a familiar cat sitting on the desk at the front of the room.
"Good morning, Professor McGonagall."
As always, Hermione was first to arrive. The cat nodded in her direction and stared patiently at the door as all the students filed in, some alone, and some in groups of two or three. When all of them arrived, the cat transformed into the professor they all knew and loved so much.
"Good morning, students."
"Good morning, Professor McGonagall," said the Gryffindor students.
"Today you will learn how to transfigure human beings," said Professor McGonagall, "into objects which can hide in plain sight."
The class was silent for a moment, and then exploded into whispers and loud questions. Hermione leaned forward in her seat with bright, curious eyes. When Professor McGonagall held up one aged hand, the room fell silent again.
"I will not insult you all by omitting this fact, when I know that you are perfectly capable of knowing the truth."
The room was so quiet that a pin could have dropped and they would have heard the noise.
"There is a war coming," continued Professor McGonagall, with a weary expression. "And one day soon, many of you may be on the run from… certain authorities."
She didn't need to elaborate on which authorities. They all knew that she meant Death Eaters.
"There may come a time where you require an immediate disguise, and all you have with you are your wits and your wand," said Professor McGonagall. She paused. "A volunteer, please."
Hands rose into the air. Professor McGonagall ignored them all and looked directly at one student.
"Mr. Potter, if you would please stand to my left."
Hermione's eyes widened as Harry stood up slowly and placed himself next to their Head of House. She thought she could hear Professor McGonagall say, "Have no fear, Mr. Potter."
And then, Professor McGonagall waved her wand. With a series of intricate movements, and a muttered incantation, Harry Potter transformed before their eyes. The wooden panels below them cracked and groaned as Harry's legs melded into the roots of a massive tree, and those roots took grip in the floor. Harry's torso, arms and head all became one and grew into sprawling, magnificent branches. Soon, in the confines of the Transfiguration classroom, there stood an old, ancient oak tree in the place of Harry Potter.
She waved her wand again, and the roots and branches pulled away from the ceiling and floors, retracting faster and faster until, with a loud pop!, Harry Potter stood before them once more with a slightly disoriented expression and a few leaves in his hair.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter. Five points to Gryffindor. You may return to your seat."
She turned to the class as Harry moved to sit down.
"While a tree is not the most inconspicuous of choices, it is an object which can hide in plain sight. However, a chair, for example, or a bookshelf, would achieve a similar effect. Even a rosebush would do the job satisfactorily," said Professor McGonagall. With a deep breath through her nose, she continued. "The wand motion is in the shape of a lemniscate," she said, moving her wand in a horizontal figure eight, "finished by an inverted triangle."
She paused, then said, "The incantation is Mutare Sententiam Avertas. Can anyone tell me what this means?"
Hermione raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
Hermione smiled in thanks. "Well, mutare comes from 'mutate,' which means 'to transform,' and 'avertas' means 'to avert,' or 'to hide from view.' Sententiam comes from the root 'to feel,' or 'sentient.' So, the incantation could mean 'transform and hide from view,' specifically from the view of humans."
"Thank you, Miss Granger, that is correct. Ten points to Gryffindor."
Professor McGonagall turned to the class once more. "You will split into pairs and practice the incantation until it is perfected. The counter-incantation is Mutationem in Finem. The first pair to both perform the spell without error will be released early to lunch period."
Hermione paired herself with Marianne Gallagher, a witty Gryffindor with particular skills in Charms. Better that than to be paired with Ron, who seemed to be doing Seamus more harm than good over at the other end of the room. Harry was paired with Dean Thomas, who actually was quite a good wizard, and they seemed to be managing themselves without problems.
"Do you want to go first?" said Hermione. Marianne smiled and shrugged.
"Sure," she said.
Hermione nodded, narrowed her eyes. "Mutare Sententiam Avertas."
The effect was immediate and elegant; Marianne spun on her heel and transformed into a white marble Roman bust, with harsh facial features so different from her own that she could never possibly be recognized, even from up close. The statue glowed faintly in the light of the classroom, and Hermione couldn't seem to keep her eyes locked on it for more than a few seconds.
That's the 'avertas' part of the incantation, thought Hermione. A bit like the Notice-Me-Not Charm. It forces you to avert your eyes.
She uttered the counter-incantation, and Marianne was back to normal, smiling brightly.
"Your turn, Hermione?"
Hermione nodded, and Marianne promptly turned her into a simple desk lamp. Hermione thought that the feeling of being transformed was not unlike the feeling of being placed under a Disillusionment Charm mixed with a sudden Apparition.
When it was over, they were both released from class. Before Hermione could leave, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to look at the owner with a question in her eyes.
"Thank you for pairing up with me," said Marianne with a kind look on her face. "I'd love to study with you some time. If you're up for it."
Hermione looked at her with a surprised expression. "Oh - sure - I mean, I'd love to." She smiled, and the two young women exchanged a look of understanding before going their separate ways to lunch break.
Hermione didn't bother to tell Harry and Ron where she was going. They would know that she in the library, as always.
To Be Continued... Soon!
The spell from Transfiguration class is my idea, and so is the scene from Arithmancy class.
Mutare Sententiam Avertas and the counter spell Mutationem in Finem are mine.
Marianne and Delaney are my original characters.
Thank you so much for reading this story by S.H. Brookes!
I would love, love LOVE it if you commented and left reviews on my story.
Aside from original scenes, plots and characters, everything belongs to JK Rowling.
Let me know what you think!
:)
